The Truth About the Evangelical "Left Turn" on Climate Change

All eyes are on Evengelicals voters in '08 as this once unified GOP voting bloc is adding a pro-climate change solution stance to its basket of value-laden messages. It's being reported by the mainstream media as a sharp left turn that's left splintered factions in its wake. The greens vs. the non-greens. A “crack up” in the Evangelical camp, wrote the NYT.

Reckless spin? It sure looks that way, according to an interesting new article by the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) called "Evangelicalese 101."

The journal took a hard look at what’s actually going on among Evangelicals and found that they're not morphing into the new face of the liberal left. Yes, they've been dissatisfied with the GOP leadership over the last few years. Yes, they're less than ecstatic about the current crop of GOP candidates. But come on, who isn't? Their distaste does not mean they've opened their arms to the idea of a Democratic leadership. And it doesn't mean a major political realignment is in the works.

While the changes within the Evangelical community are very real, they are much more subtle, complex, and organic than the media coverage would suggest. The interest of many in "creation care" (a term that includes action to stop climate change), is not an an adoption of liberal values. Hardly. It's rooted in scripture. And the media's failure to get this is really annoying to Evangelical leaders who are leading the "creation care" charge. They don't want to be seen as "environmentalists," or worse yet, liberal collaborators. A partisan stamp like that would kill their well-meaning efforts.

And there you have the evolution of climate change activism in America!

Solving climate is increasingly being seen by voters from both ends of the political spectrum as a no-brainer. In fact, the Evangelicals are just one group that has awakened to the promise of American leadership on global warming. For just about everyone, including the U.S. Military (but oddly enough not our federal government), it's an objectively wise move from an economic, political, national security, human rights, religious, and moral perspective.

And this is where the rubber hits the road for the Evangelicals. There isn't a single GOP candidate that's endorsed the "creation care" agenda in any specificity. Evangelicals make up a solid one-quarter of the voting American public. As CJR reports, President Bush owes 36 percent of his last victory to them.

It's no wonder the Democrats are doing some heavy courting. It's a numbers game.

So practically speaking, what if, in 2008, we see a few million of these voters willing to stray from the GOP base and vote for a Democrat? It may not be the massive political shift to the left that the media portends, but it could really shake up a close election.

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